Biography
Yōko Tsukasa is a Japanese actress. Born Yōko Shōji on 20 August 1934 in Watari-cho, Sakaiminato, Tottori Prefecture, she graduated from Kyoritsu Women's Junior College in 1954 and joined Toho Studios after being scouted as a cover girl. She made her film debut that year and was given her stage name by actor Ryō Ikebe.
Over a career spanning more than six decades she worked with directors including Yasujirō Ozu, Mikio Naruse and Akira Kurosawa. Her notable films include Late Autumn (1960), The End of Summer (1961), Yojimbo (1961) as Nui, and The Kii River (1966), for which she received the Blue Ribbon Award, Mainichi Film Award and Kinema Junpo Award for Best Actress. She also appeared in Samurai Rebellion (1967) and Goyokin (1969).
Tsukasa married politician and attorney Hideyuki Aizawa in 1969; they had one child. She reduced her acting commitments after 1971. She received the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 2003 and the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette in 2010.
